Why do you recommend skirt or shin? Are they softer? Yet cheaper? How does that work?

Rush what I tried to convey is if you cannot afford or get quality steak of any cut dont bother with cheap junk, the cheaper cut like skirt or shin will taste better after in shins case long slow cooking than a poor piece of steak.

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You are not going to buy a steakable steak for 2 bucks a pound. At the local Costco, choice ribeyes and strips are around $8-10. Prime a couple of dollars more.

There are basically only 3 primals producing steaks. These are the rib, loin, and to a lesser extent, the round. Ribeye, filet, strip are just boneless versions of these. Bone in are self explanatory and most contain two of the boneless + the bone. Differences between porterhouse, T bone, Delmonico, etc, have to do with these proportions.

The location if the steak within these primals is important. The difference between a chuck roast and the first rib steak is a knife cut. Likewise between the rib -loin and loin round. Generally speaking, the closer to the center of the critter, the better the steak.

Aging is important. Most supermarket steak has little, if any age. There are two reasons, cost, and the fact that aged meat loses the bright red color that some buyers favor. The choices with the consumer concerning aging are to pay the price for dry aged restuarant quality staek, somewhere in the $12 +/lb range, or purchase sub primal cuts in Cryovac and age it wet yourself. Prime grade ribeyes here are about $8/pound. Around 45 - 60 days works for me, from packing date. The date of packing is stamped on the box, and the butcher should be able to get it for you. Just store the unbroken package in the referigerator.

Grades are preceded by USDA and choice and prime are IMO the only steak grades. Names like Angus, Butchers Select, Farmers Best, are trade names. They may mean something, they may not.

For me, being a good consumer means a rudimentary knowledge of the product I am buying. Many good butchers will take the time to give you a crash course in meet cuts. People like Rob, who buy and cook more steak in a night than most of us do in a year, are worth listening to. The internet has good information.

If your budget limits you to less than market price, you are probably better off without steak. Other critters, like pork and fowl, and creative cooking of lesser cuts of beef are a better option.

I buy New Yorks and Rib-Eyes for grilling steaks.
I love the Porterhouse and T-bone but the ones in my supermarket are crap.The filet is usually stripped off the T-bone completely and the porterhouses are never cut thick enough and they look more like a T-Bone.

I find a 1/2 hour soak in soy sauce will really improve the beefy/umami flavor of supermarket steaks.(no more)

I will sometimes pound my New Yorks with my fist a few times before marinating to help tenderize them a little.

I also reccommend cooking a steak with as much heat as you can muster. Hot and fast makes a more tender steak. Slow is for other cuts of meat and will toughen steaks.

I also buy mine on the cheap and freeze them. This will toughen them a bit too but I find the price savings more valueable to me.

I buy New Yorks and Rib-Eyes for grilling steaks.
I love the Porterhouse and T-bone but the ones in my supermarket are crap.The filet is usually stripped off the T-bone completely and the porterhouses are never cut thick enough and they look more like a T-Bone.

I find a 1/2 hour soak in soy sauce will really improve the beefy/umami flavor of supermarket steaks.(no more)

I will sometimes pound my New Yorks with my fist a few times before marinating to help tenderize them a little.

I also reccommend cooking a steak with as much heat as you can muster. Hot and fast makes a more tender steak. Slow is for other cuts of meat and will toughen steaks.

I also buy mine on the cheap and freeze them. This will toughen them a bit too but I find the price savings more valueable to me.

I think a T bone with the filet stripped is called a shell or bone in strip.

I've never brined anything. What kinda brine would you recommend for steak?

And how much will brining improve a top sirloin steak? Will it become as soft as a prime rib?

Apologies to you Rush...I WAY missed this post earlier. Not to get too complicated about brining though, especially since its not a familiar topic for you, well, were I you, I would begin trying the process on cut-up bits of chicken to be fried. (thats how I learned anyhow)..My family did the usual of taking the chicken pieces stratght out of the packagiing, &, went straight into the breading phase. Nothing wrong with that, ...BUT.....my eldestst greatgrandma was still around. Her fried chicken just couldn't be matched. PERIOD! I spent quite some time w/her, &, she introduced me to brining, &, what it was all about! Never have I looked back since!
Brining is a process in which you introduce your raw meats into a lovingly bath/soak that consists of at least 85% salt, &, as you progress, other things can be added(the longer you brine, the better -at least 24hrs in advanced helps gobs).. It helps to remove the meats blood, while imparting flavour at the same time.
When its time to cook, simply strain of the yucky red water, give the meat a slight rinse, &, *poof* you are ready to go. The more that you get comfortable doing this, I PROMISE, the "better" your food will taste!!
For me know, brining now is such a huge step, that, I never, ever just cook most of anything unless it has has a proper "brine".

Apologies to you Rush...I WAY missed this post earlier. Not to get too complicated about brining though, especially since its not a familiar topic for you, well, were I you, I would begin trying the process on cut-up bits of chicken to be fried. (thats how I learned anyhow)..My family did the usual of taking the chicken pieces stratght out of the packagiing, &, went straight into the breading phase. Nothing wrong with that, ...BUT.....my eldestst greatgrandma was still around. Her fried chicken just couldn't be matched. PERIOD! I spent quite some time w/her, &, she introduced me to brining, &, what it was all about! Never have I looked back since!
Brining is a process in which you introduce your raw meats into a lovingly bath/soak that consists of at least 85% salt, &, as you progress, other things can be added(the longer you brine, the better -at least 24hrs in advanced helps gobs).. It helps to remove the meats blood, while imparting flavour at the same time.
When its time to cook, simply strain of the yucky red water, give the meat a slight rinse, &, *poof* you are ready to go. The more that you get comfortable doing this, I PROMISE, the "better" your food will taste!!
For me know, brining now is such a huge step, that, I never, ever just cook most of anything unless it has has a proper "brine".

I see. Thanks for the informative post. I've always been confused about "brining."

I always thought that the purpose of brining, was to break down the meat and sorta tenderize it with acid and enzymes, and so forth.

But I watched an episode of Alton, and he said that brining just helps lock in the juices during the cooking process... it sorta fuses the skin of the meat and closes up the pores, so juices can't escape...

It seems to run contrary to the common belief that brining breaks down the meat. Alton says that brining fortifies it... maybe I misinterpreted...